New Releases by Hilary McKay

At preschool Bella learns all about Christmas -- that Santa Claus will come in his sleigh pulled over the snow by his reindeer. And he will bring a huge brown sack full of presents. Bella tells her beloved cat, Black Jack, about it when she gets home. But when Santa actually comes to her preschool, Bella is bitterly disappointed. He doesn''t seem to be the real thing at all -- no sleigh, no snow, no reindeer, and, worst of all, no present for Black Jack in his huge brown sack. Was that Christmas? Bella sobs to her mother on the way home from the school party.So Bella''s family has to show her all the things that still have to be done before it is really Christmas, like baking mince pies, buying presents for her mother and father, icing the cake, and getting the Christmas tree.This is a delightful story for small children about all the wonderful things that make Christmas so special, told and illustrated by an award-winning author-and-artist team.

Jack the Bookman.

Pudding Bag School is an ordinary kind of school but extraordinary things seem to happen there. When Miss Gilhoolie, 4b''s mysterious teacher is ill, she sets her pupils a special competition which has more than a touch of magic about it!

Anna is disappointed when she discovers the scientific explanation for upside-down reflections in spoons, for she thought it was magic. But her Chinese great-grandmother''s dragon coat and some silken juggling balls help her make some special, messy magic of her own.

One night, Danny is woken by a strange shrieking noise from behind his bedroom wall. Could it be a ghost? His mother doesn''t think so, but then again, what else could it be? Soon, everyone in Paradise House is involved. But what emerges is beyond Danny''s wildest dreams.

Snowtop is Simon''s favorite bear in the world, so he is frantic when he disappears and replaced by a strange bear. How Simon is magically reunited with Snowtop, with the help of the strange bear, makes for a funny and delightful story. Full color.

Danny, Anna and Nathan live in the flats of Paradise House, but they are far from angelic and get up to all sorts of mischief. Danny and Anna try to set up a zoo in the attic and nearly blow off the roof. Hilary McKay won the 1994 Smarties Award for The Exiles at Home.

The four Conroy sisters'' efforts to raise money in order to sponsor a ten-year-old boy in Africa get them into one difficult situation after another.